And for me, he was a gritty and wise blend somewhere between Sean Bean, and Philip Glenister. I think he manages to be utterly formidable and strong like a chunk of granite – but at the same time, totally unassuming, very personable, very humble. Sam takes you through the books, he's the anchor, the Guvnor, and I can just summon a feeling of what it would be like to meet Sam for the first time. Gosh, a favourite? Well, I've got to go for Sam Vimes. Who is your favourite character to narrate and how did you bring them to life in the audiobooks? It's a wonderful way to experience Terry's imagination. When you’re recording, you can’t help but fully immerse yourself in the whole experience: every word, every line, every sentence, every chapter. I remember when the call came through from my agent, he said, 'I’ve got an inquiry from Penguin about narrating the Terry Pratchett City Watch series.' 'Yes, yes!' I snapped before he had even finished the sentence. How did it feel to revisit Discworld while narrating the City Watch audiobooks? It was one of my first jobs and I was in my early 20s at the time, playing a multitude of characters.Īnd then coming to read the books it was as though I was walking through a highly ornate tabernacle door that opens up with a very fulsome, resonant creek – then you step through to be greeted by an entire other universe, which you feel drawn to run into at full pelt. My first intro to Terry was when I worked on a Discworld cartoon series circa 1993. To celebrate the launch of the series we spoke to Culshaw about his experience recording the books, the novel he recommends you read first, and the night he watched the lunar eclipse with the author himself.ĭo you remember your first introduction to Terry Pratchett's novels?

Narrating all eight of the new volumes is actor, comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw, alongisde Bill Nighy who returns to read Pratchett's famous footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz, who voices Death. With a stellar cast of readers, the Witches, Wizards, and Death series were brought to life, and now it's the turn of Ankh-Morpork's finest police force – the City Watch – a series that follows their adventures (and misadventures) as they fight for survival in the hours of darkness.

Last year, Penguin Audio launched its biggest project to date: recording new and unabridged audiobooks of all 40 titles in Sir Terry Pratchett's bestselling Discworld novels.

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